


Then our skin gets thicker

by risinggreatness



Series: Circle 'round the sun [83]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 21:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3333281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risinggreatness/pseuds/risinggreatness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter is the harshest season, surviving it only makes one harder</p>
            </blockquote>





	Then our skin gets thicker

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! This place is _covered_ in fucking sand!”

Obi-Wan continues to hold out the giant jacket. “Trust me, Anakin, you’re going to need it.”

Anakin grumbles under his breath, but yanks the coat out of Obi-Wan’s hand anyway. He’s been unwillingly hauled across the galaxy for no discernible reason, and now they’ve arrived on a planet covered with the worst terrain imaginable.

He can’t fathom what he could possibly need this puffy piece-of-shit for when all that lies before them is sand, sand, and what else?

Oh, that’s right! _More sand_.

He’s so annoyed with Obi-Wan he could scream.

A blistering wind smacks Anakin in the face when the hatch finally opens to them let them out into the world. He shivers violently against his will and in spite of the huge coat.

“Welcome to Ilum, Anakin.”

The curious white sand crunches as his foot sinks into a deep pile. It collects in the top of his boot ( _that’s just great_ ). Except sand doesn’t crunch or sink as much as this. And the sand in his boot is making his foot cold.

“What the fu –”

“It’s called snow.” Obi-Wan smirks.

Anakin’s not in a mood to put up with Obi-Wan’s mocking, but the powdery substance beneath his feet _is_ intriguing. He marvels at the empty landscape.

Out the porthole, the ground looked dusty and brown ( _the windows really should be cleaned_ ). From the safety of the ship, he could already feel sand chafing in unnatural places.

In the open air it is pure white; new flakes softly and slowly fall from a grey sky. The ball of snow he picks off the ground packs together in his hand.

It’s an entirely different sort of wasteland on the horizon than he’s used to. He wonders if the whole planet is wrapped in a blanket of snow. ( _A desert is a desert._ ) Plagued or not by the same curse as Tatooine, Anakin already likes Ilum a lot better.

“You going to stand and stare all day or come with me?”

“What are we even doing here?” he asks irritated, as he turns around.

A giant cave stands open in the mountain base behind Obi-Wan. The snow drifts in, like sand from a sandstorm, before disappearing into the mountain’s hidden depths.

“We’re here to collect a crystal. It’s just about time you had your own lightsaber.”

_Finally_. He’s only been waiting for this moment since Master Qui-Gon demonstrated lightsaber techniques for him on his first voyage to Coruscant. Practice blades were fine for a while, but having a real lightsaber means he’ll be going on missions soon. He’ll be learning outside the Temple.

Either it’s the Force or there’s something mystical about the snowy landscape, but Anakin feels a giddy urge to chuck the ball of snow in his hand at Obi-Wan’s head.

It bursts apart on impact.

“Hey!”

“That’s for dragging me out of bed,” he laughs.

Obi-Wan’s retaliation hits Anakin square in the face.

\----------

Brothers circle around the fire. Some hold their hands out to the heat, others keep theirs tucked away. Orto Pluntunia offers little hospitality. Neither does Chairman Chi Cho.

With Generals Kenobi and Skywalker gone to investigate the canyon, the chairman assumes authority. He steps on Senator Riyo Chuchi’s words. He claims he is ready to fight and die for the people of Pantora.

Rex feels little sympathy for the chairman’s plight – less when Cho assumes he has the authority to give him orders. The only dead here are clones.

His brothers look at each other skeptically as Cho tries to rile them ( _now he remembers who lost their lives here_ ). And he wants more of them to die for him. The senator’s quiet objections are swept up by his howling.

War is declared.

It grates when General Skywalker assigns him to protect Cho.

When the talz spring their attack, Rex does his duty, regardless of how he feels about the chairman. Snow sprays from the breaking snowspeeders; they form a defensive circle. The talz and their beasts break the line. Between the frenzy of blaster fire, gnashing of teeth, and swirling snow, Rex loses sight of his charge.

The chairman is gravely injured; Rex rushes him back to camp.

With his last breath he shouts for violence and vengeance.

It’s nothing short of spectacular when timid Senator Chuchi steps forward to negotiate with the talz. Her voice is stronger than the wind and clearer than ice.

His brothers do not have to lean in closer to feel the fire of her words.

Peace lights a candle in them all.

\----------

_It was just an act_ , Ahsoka tells herself. _A part of our cover. It’s nothing to get excited about._

Nothing she _should_ get excited about, more like.

Yes, if she’s honest, Ahsoka’s pretty sure she feels a small attraction to Lux. But the sooner she can acknowledge it, the sooner she can get over it ( _right?_ ).

_Focus!_

The Death Watch are not to be trifled with and she can’t possibly take them on by herself. R2 would help, if she knew where he was, and, as stupid as it is, Lux thinks they’ll help him. ( _She hates that she can be annoyed with him and still feel – no, stop it._ )

They could try escape, plain and simple – no, they would leave tracks behind in the snow.

She racks her brain for other ideas, but nothing comes. Carlac’s wintery surface is giving her nothing to work with. For now, she’ll just have to blend in and play along.

Tryla and the other girls prepare supper. Ahsoka is useless when it comes to cooking, so she holds the tray while soup is ladled into the bowls.

They huddle close together as they deliver the meal to another tent. They shield each other. Ahsoka suspects it is not against the cold. This is their home; they must already be used to the high winds and frigid air.

They have each other, but Ahsoka begins to feel a prickle of responsibility for these girls ( _That’s what Jedi are supposed to do, right? Take care of others._ ). She can’t leave them with Death Watch any more than she can leave Lux.

( _She reminds him not to choke on his stupidity when she serves him at the feast._ )

She pities Chief Pieter when he comes to beg Vizsla for his people back; he braved the storm for nothing.

And even though she’s just one padawan, Ahsoka gives the Death Watch all the fight she’s got when they torch Tryla’s village.

It feels like failure. She hardly knew them, but she let them down, her self-imposed charges.

Their escape ( _hers, R2’s, and Lux’s_ ) is less savory for it.

Who knew the blizzard wouldn’t blow away the blood?

\----------

A lot of the pilots underestimate what the barren wasteland can do the engines of a ship. Luke’s seen one too many sandstorms to believe snow would be any different.

After they try scouting by fighter through the first few blizzards, command gives up and resort to tauntauns ( _and Luke thought banthas smelled bad_ ). The creatures don’t cover much ground, but they can make it to the perimeter. They only use the Y-wings when they’re sure the weather will be clear.

For lack of something to do, the other pilots sit on their hands. When they’re not on patrol it’s not like there’s anything else for them to do.

Luke kills the time hanging about the Falcon, in as bad shape as she’s ever been. Trying to make her flight worthy again, Chewie tinkers away.

“Argh! Fuck!” Han shouts.

Luke leans into the engineering bay to see what’s wrong. Han kicks the ship’s hyperdrive in aggravation, shaking his hand and gritting his teeth, sucking in.

“Did you hurt yourself or did Leia bite you for bugging the crap out of her?”

Mentioning Leia only serves to piss off Han more; Luke is dimly aware of his own satisfaction.

He’s not pining. He’s moved on. He and Leia have their understanding. No, this is born out of all places, protectiveness.

Han’s constantly reminding them he can pick up and leave whenever he wants. It’s only recently Luke’s started to believe he’s serious about it.

The inevitability makes Luke morose. He’s known Han and Chewie longer than anyone else ( _not dead; not on Tatooine_ ) in his life ( _Leia close behind_ ). If the Falcon left now, her captain and co-pilot in tow, he wouldn’t resent it, but it would hurt.

Now they’re both in a bad mood.

Even though Echo Base’s ice walls are thick, they can still hear a faint whistling of wind. It chills everyone’s bones.

“As long as you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. When I tell you to, flip that switch,” Han ducks into the open hatch.

Luke fully enters the engineering bay and stands where Han points.

He’s reminded of the endless hours he spent repairing moister vaporators with Biggs. Only the Falcon’s engines are a good deal more complex than farming equipment. And Han is nothing like Biggs.

It is almost brotherly, the way Han hovers over his shoulder, making sure he’s repairing ships right or playing a good hand of sabacc. Though he may have wished Han wasn’t there at the time, Luke can’t deny he’s occasionally been a decent wing-man too.

Whether he realizes it or not, Luke feels looked after and protected by Han.

“Try it now.”

The switch clicks on and the hyperdrive roars to life.

“It’s about time that worked.”

There are probably a million things Han and Chewie still need to tamper with before they set off, but they’re one step closer to leaving.

He hoped they would at least stick around for however long the Rebellion stays on Hoth.

The bitterness of the ice planet seeps into Luke.

**Author's Note:**

> See author bio for discussion on this 'verse.


End file.
